My outdoor adventures in the Last Frontier

My Plans for 2015

Hi everyone! Sorry for the lack of half marathon training plan posting yesterday but…I don’t really want to talk about it right now. I feel like I’m definitely going through some kind of lazy spell right now and I have totally lost all will to do anything except watch Kourtney and Khloe Take the Hamptons. It’s almost as if everyone’s goals and resolutions are sucking up all of my motivation! Oh, and the weather got a little crazy here too:

This is my current weather, which is actually warming up (as you can see it will be raining this weekend instead of snowing, WHERE IS THE SNOW ALASKA!) but it’s still a giant leap from the 20s and 30s that I’ve been running in all winter long. I shouldn’t complain since this is the coldest it’s been since probably 2013 and it’s not as bad as some places in the US, but it’s still pretty rough to get used to. This weekend it was in the single digits and it was so cold that I was literally coughing when I took a breath and my nose hair froze, which is apparently a thing here. I went for a run on Saturday and my legs were so incredibly cold that I just couldn’t bring myself to do it again on Sunday. And Wednesday’s rain and then the drop from 43 degrees to 3 degrees caused some crazy ice on the ground that was pretty scary to run on. I’ve been avoiding the fees for this long but I really do think it’s gym time now 😦 Even though I know have to battle for a treadmill with all the resolution people at the gym. I’m hoping I can still do most of my runs outside this winter, even though it hurts to breathe and I run the risk of falling on ice. But on the bright side, it’s still consistently warmer here than in Wisconsin where my sister lives! And when it’s this cold out we get awesome things here like the northern lights, crazy ice trees, and incredible sunsets!

Aurora over Wasilla at 12:30 am Sunday morning. We watched it for 3 hours!

In hiding-from-the-cold news, I’ve gone over to the dark side and will most likely be signing up for the gym monopoly in Anchorage, The Alaska Club. I have no idea what terrifyingly huge monthly membership fee they will make me pay but everyone says they have the best classes in town which I think will motivate me to go more. There’s also Planet Fitness for $10 a month but they don’t have classes, there is not one single spin studio in Anchorage for me to join for occasional classes, and yoga classes at studios are crazy expensive. So I guess it’s worth it. I’m going to be trying out a day at the gym with a guest pass this week and will let you know if they won me over!

While my motivation seems to have disappeared with the sunlight here, I have taken some time to make a few goals for 2015 that haven’t totally overwhelmed me. You can check out my New Year’s Friday Five post here, but I’ve got a few more to share:

I am joining up with Run This Year with a goal to run 500 miles in 2015! That may not sound like a lot to some people but that’s a realistic goal for me that won’t totally make me burn out on running and hate it. I’ve never run that many miles before in one year so I’m excited!

I am really working on my goal to do more yoga. My favorite online yoga classes are from Yoga With Adrienne because she doesn’t take herself too seriously, makes yoga accessible to newbies like me, and has classes with names like “Yoga for Headaches” that makes me want to do them even when I feel terrible! I hate yoga videos where perfect girls fold themselves into crazy poses on a beach, so I’m all about this chill type of yoga. And she’s hosting a 30 day challenge that I’m participating in! She basically has no rules about it which I LOVE, so I was able to start once my friend left town, even though it was after 1/1 when most other challenges wouldn’t let me do that. I love it!

And finally, I’ve been loving all of the one word for 2015 challenges that bloggers are coming up with. I talked to my husband about it, and we decided on a word for both of us that embodies our focus in 2015:

Here’s the definition of embrace from dictionary.com: to accept an opportunity, challenge, etc. willingly or eagerly. Why this word? Well, this year will be our first full calendar year in Alaska and we want to make it the best year ever. There are so many things we want to try here (hence my “Alaska cross training” goal) and most of them are kind of intimidating and intense. I mean, climbing one of the 3,000 ft mountains that borders the city isn’t exactly normal cross training in the summer, and skate skiing isn’t normal for most people in the winter (fun fact: it’s not like we can do it now anyways since all our snow melted into an ice sheet. Blah.). But despite how much of a rookie we are at all things Alaskan, we want to embrace every part of living here. We want to have no regrets this year, and it means spending less time watching Parks and Rec on the weekends and more time learning how to ice skate without breaking our ankles. My only rule is to embrace safely – no need to fall off a mountain, wipe out on ice, or get frostbite just because we have to get out there. But we’re looking forward to embracing our new lives more in 2015!

Did you choose a word for 2015? Are you having colder weather than usual? How do you make yourself run outside in single and negative temps?

I am going to do that too! If you have any treadmill tips let me know 🙂 I ran an 11 miler on one last year in my own apartment with the help of my TV and my husband running to get me drinks, but doing it at the gym is going to be a new experience for me!

The furthest I’ve done on a gym treadmill was 8 miles, and other than some serious underarm chafing from a bad shirt hem, it wasn’t that bad. Netflix on my phone definitely helped! I also had a water bottle and a Gu right there with me so I could fuel on the go.

I generally like running in the cold weather, but once it drops below 20 i wont go out. Its just too painful lol but ive been running on weekends during the warmest part of the day.. Plus SUN! Ps its snowing in berks county right now. Thought you would like to know lol

WHAT! I’m so jealous! I’m sure my mom is having a snow-induced panic attack right now haha. I ran in 10 degree weather on Saturday and apparently that’s my limit because my poor legs were frozen. Not fun anymore.

Those pictures are amazing! I would love to see the Northern lights – so pretty. And that weather. My arbitrary temperature limit is 16F. If I’m running and my face is freezing then I’m not happy. The gym is always a good resource for mixing up workouts and trying some new classes. And treadmills (necessary evil).

They are seriously the coolest things I’ve ever seen! I always thought that they were out every night in the winter (I guess that’s how the media made me think about it) but it’s pretty rare to see them in Anchorage because of the clouds and light pollution, plus we’re in the southern part of the state. And when it’s a good night for them they come out in waves which is why we spent 3 hours waiting for them to really get going! Fairbanks is the place to go if you want to see them! And yeah, 16 is pretty cold. My run on Saturday was 10 degrees and when it was less than that on Sunday I was not having it. The gym is not making me happy but I’m going to have to do it 😦

No lie, I didn’t run on treadmills for a while. They are really hard for me. I have to watch the lowest level of reality TV while doing it (Kardashians) and cover the display so I don’t go crazy watching it. But I can do it if I need to, and right now I really need to get back into my training plan 😦 Yoga is happening tonight though instead of a cold run!

It was 5 degrees and snowing when I went out this morning and I loved it. As long as I’m layered up right and have my balaclava on, winter running is my jam. Having soup or chili waiting in the slow cooker is an effective incentive for me. Good luck on the 500 miles!

5 is cold enough to freeze nose hairs (learned that at work haha) so you are brave! I would be more willing to do it if it was sunny out but it’s not which somehow makes it worse. 10 is my limit I think. I’m so jealous you ran in the snow! I love that feeling and that definitely makes winter running fun. And so does chili! I’m stealing that idea haha.

I guess I didn’t know it didn’t get super cold in Alaska. I’m from Wisconsin and now live in Chicago… Cold is just a thing! It’s been in the single digits for a few days now, and unfortunately it’s just party of January! Learned something new today!

Haha yeah it’s usually colder in the midwest than in Anchorage. When I moved here I tried to compile a list of facts to prove to my mom that Alaska isn’t a frozen wasteland and found out that Minneapolis is the coldest city in the US over 300,000 people. Fairbanks is FREEZING (like -40s is usual) but Anchorage is warmer since we’re on the water. In 2014 we didn’t have a single day go below zero! I think it used to be much colder here but it’s been on a warming trend for a while now. Our winters are scary long though 😦 So feel super badass for surviving your cold winters! Props if you keep running through them!

I don’t blame you for feeling that way with all that cold and dark weather! I love the ice tree picture though, beautiful! So glad you chose the gym with classes, those always make a big difference in motivation. PS there’s plenty of snow in PA today, you can have all of ours!